CARLISLE -- The defense said the DNA evidence left on Tina Myers’ body may belong to Douglas P. Smith, but that does not directly link him to her murder.

The prosecution, on the other hand, said this is the kind of DNA evidence juries look for in finding guilt, and pointed out numerous witnesses in three days of trial said Smith had left his semen in Myers’ throat at or about the time of her death.

Tina Myers, who was 33, of Lower Paxton Township, was killed in 2001. The man accused of killing her, Douglas P. Smith, 58, of Harrisburg, is on trial in Cumberland County court.

Smith’s trial began Monday in Cumberland County court, and the jury will soon be deliberating on whether they will find Smith guilty or not guilty of murder in the first degree, murder in the third degree, or involuntary manslaughter.

Smith’s attorney, Geoffrey McInroy, said in his closing arguments before the jury Thursday that it may have been Smith’s sperm that was found in Myers’ throat, but the prosecution did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt when it got there.

He told the jury the numerous DNA and forensics experts could not agree on how long a sperm cell can survive before being destroyed, and the sperm cells found in her throat could have been taken into the lungs first, some time prior to her death, and survived intact.

“Use common sense,” McInroy said. “There is not a direct line from sperm in the back of her throat to my client.”

He said most people know enough about DNA that they would not leave it on a dead body intentionally.

“It would be like him saying, ‘I just killed somebody, and I’m going to put my driver’s license in her throat,’” McInroy said.

When investigators linked the DNA to Smith, they worked to make the evidence fit, he said. Investigators had eliminated numerous other possible suspects over the years, McInroy said, pointing out unidentified DNA was found on Myers’ zipper, and in her underwear. The DNA of Smith, Myers and a third, unidentified person were found under one of her fingernails, too, he said.

There are a number of other factors the prosecution did not prove in three days, he said. There are still questions about when the DNA was deposited, about other potential suspects and the timeline of events, he said.

And in his closing arguments, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Birbeck said this is the kind of DNA evidence investigators look for, and juries want when making their decision. Testimony showed the sperm is most likely Smith's, and there is only a 1 in 2.6 quadrillion chance it belongs to someone else.

He said if you populated every planet in the solar system with earth’s population, it would still not equal 2.6 quadrillion.

“If the killer is someone else, he is not in this solar system,” Birbeck told the jury. “The killer is sitting right there.”

And timing does matter in this case, Birbeck told the jury. Numerous witnesses testified the sperm found in Myers throat would have been left there at or around the time of her death.

“What’s important is his semen was deposited in her throat at the time she was killed,” Birbeck said.

And Birbeck told the jury the intent and malice are there to convict Smith of first-degree murder. Myers was choked to death, and the cartilage in her neck was fractured, he said. Testimony showed it takes several minutes to strangle somebody, and the intent was formed in that time.

Investigators searched for years, eliminated many as potential suspects, and it came down to Smith, Birbeck said.

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